Biscuit packaging machine



NOV- 1, 1965 L. E. STEIMEN ETAL 3,282,023

BISCUIT PACKAGING MACHINE Filed April l?, 1965 1l Sheets-Sheet l FIG.

Nov. 1, 1966 n.. E. sTElMEN ETAL 3,282,023

BISCUIT PACKAGING MACHINE l1 Sheets-Shee(l 2 Filed April 17, 1963 Nov.1, 1966 L.. E. STEIMEN ETAL. 3,2%923 BISCUIT PACKAGING MACHINE FiledApril 17, 1965 Md ATTORNEYS Nov. l, 1966 L. E. sTElMEN ETAL 3,282,923

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awk M/ NOV. l, 1966 1 STEIMEN ETAL 3,28223 BISCUIT PACKAGING MACHINE llSheets-Sheet 8 Filed April 17, 1963 Nkmw Nov. 1, 1966 l.. E. sTElMENETAL. 3,282,023

BISCUIT PACKAGING MACHINE l1 Sheets-Sheet 9 Filed April 17, 1963 .mmm

,WM/ M/@MMU ATTORNEY Nov. l, 1966 L. E. STEIMEN ETAL 3,282,023

BISCUIT PACKAGING MACHINE Fil'ed April 17, 1963 11. sheets-:sheet .1.o

ATTORNEYS Nov. l, 1966 L. E` sTElMEN ETAL 3,282,023

BISCUIT PACKAGING MACHINE Filed April 17, 1963 ll Sheets-Sheet 1l FRGQ3,282,023 BISCUIT PACKAGING MACHINE Lawrence E. Steimen, Topsiield,Arthur H. Buckley,

Salem, and Gregory C. Kekopoulos, Ipswich, Mass., assignors to Arthur D.Little, Inc., Cambridge, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts FiledApr. 1'7, 1963, Ser. No. 273,775 29 Claims. (Cl. 53-237) The presentinvention has reference to a new and improved biscuit packaging machinehaving plunger-type forming and charging stations.v

According to this invention, there is provided apparatus forconsecutively filling cans with biscuit dough blanks indexed below acharging station on the upper ilight of a conveyor. The conveyor isformed with transverse die cup rows which receive unformed dough blanksvia a feeding and cutting apparatus, these die-cup rows then beingindexed to a forming station where a battery of plungers form the blanksinto the desired shape; next, the conveyor is indexed to a chargingstation where another battery of plungers forces the dough blanks intothe cans indexed therebelow.

One object of this invention is to provide -a new and improved means forensuring the dough blanks are deposited in the cans without undesirabletilting, as would tend to cause an uneven distribution of the formeddough blanks within the cans. To this end, there is provided a trap doorarrangement at the charging station, opposed transverse pivoted platesreceiving the dough blanks in symmetrical relationship `with respect tothe adjacent edges of the trap door plates; when these plates are thenpivoted downwardly and away from one another, there is no uneven forceimparted to the dough blanks as to cause tilting. Coupled with this trapdoor arrangement is an arrangement for operating the charging stationplungers to provide a faster-than-gravity downward stroke to shoot theblanks into the cans. Preferably, the charging station plungers arespring-loaded to this desirable end. It has been found that suchcooperative acti-on on the dough blanks is highly effective inmaintaining a horizontal orientation of the dough blanks in the cans,and thereby avoids the lrequirement for vacuum-type charging plungersand the like. By virtue of this charging operation, it is not necessaryfor the charging pistons to have a downward stroke which varies from oneside of the machine to the other; indeed, the downward stroke need noteven carry the charging station plungers into the can at all.

According to another feature of this invention, new and improved meansfor forming the dough blanks at the forming station -are provided. Ithas been found that a superior dough blank is formed if the dough is notpressed 'by just one plunger acting thereon, but rather a more eicientworking and forming of the dough is accomplished with a series offorming plungers consecutively working on each dough blank as it isindexed along the conveyor. To this desirable end, new and improvedarrangement for `forming the dough blanks carried in the die-cups isprovided, which includes a number of transverse rows of formingplungers, together with means for operating such plungers in timedrelationship.

This invention also contemplates: (a) new and improved means for loilingthe biscuits during the charging operation so as to keep the blanks fromsticking together after being deposited into the can; (b) new andimproved cutter assembly for eiciently cutting the ends of the doughstrips so as to deposit cut, unformed blanks into the die cups carriedby the conveyor; (c) new and improved means for spreading out acontinuous sheet of dough into laterally spaced apart strips to be fedto the United States Patent O ICC cutter assembly; (d) new and improvedconveyor means for indexing the cans in a row transversely across thecharging station; yand (e) an apparatus capable of efciently handlingdough 'blanks to the desirable end that the blanks are formed intobiscuit'shapes, and then deposited in stacked relationship in cans in areliable, trouble-free and commercially acceptable manner.

These and still further objects, advantages, and novel features of thepresent invention will become evident in the specication and claims,taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a longitudinal side elevation view of the machine accordingto this invention;

FIGURE 2 is a partial plan view of the machine in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a front elevation view of the machine in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a transverse elevational view of the cutting mechanism asviewed facing the front of the machine; FIGURE 5 is a view taken alongline 5 5 in FIGURE 4;

FIGURE 6 is a sectional view 4taken along line 6-6 in FIGURE 4;

FIGURE 7 is a diagrammatic developed view of the knife path in the-cutting mechanism;

FIGURE 8 is an enlarged longitudinal elevation view of the chargingstation and forming station;

FIGURE 9 is a transverse sectional view of the upper conveyor ight,taken along line 9-9 in FIGURE 8;

FIGURE 10 is a view taken along line 10--10 in FIG- URE 9 showing -a-single row of die cups;

FIGURE 11 is a partial plan view of the die-cup row in FIGURE 9;

FIGURE 12 is a detail view of the forming station plungers, taken alongline 12-12 in FIGURE 8;

FIGURE 13 is an enlarged side elevation view of the can feedingconveyor;

FIGURE 14 is a partial plan v'iew of the can feeding conveyor i-nFIGURIE 13;

FIGURE 15 is a view taken aIo'n-g line 1'5-15 in FIGURE 14;

FIGURE 16 is a detail elevation view of the char-gingstation plungers;

FIGURE 17 is an enlarged side elevation view of the trap door assemblyin FIGURE 8;

FIGURE 18 -is an enlarged detail view of the cam mechanism yoperative toalign the dieacup lrows in FIG- URE 9-11;

FIGURE 19 is a diagrammatic plan View of a portion of the drawingmechanism for the machine; and

FIGURE 2() :is a .diagrammatic view of the ailing mechanism.

The general arrangement of the apparatus Referring first to FIGURES 1,2, 3, and 8, there is shown a biscuit packaging machine 10 whichincludes a dough-feed conveyor 12 and an aligned dough-packagingconveyor 14 downstream of the conveyor 12. The doughfeed conveyor 12'has a cutter assembly 16 adapted to cut a single sheet of dough movingalong the conveyor 12 into longitudinal strips; a spreading apparatus 18transversely separates these cut dough. strips soI that as the doughstrips are fed off the conveylor 12, they pass a cutter knife assembly20. The packaging conveyor 14 moves in timed relationship with thecutter knife assembly 20 and the .dough feed conveyor 12 so as toreceive the cut ends of the dough strips in consecutive die-cup rows 22which are spaced according to the transverse position of the spread.dough strips. These cut dough blanks, which are unformed, are carriedby the consecutive diecup rows past ,a vibrating powdering station 24,thence past a forming station 26 where a series of plungers are adaptedto co-act with the die cups to form the dough blank into a disc-shape inpreparation fo-r packaging.

Next, these formed dough blanks move to a charging station 28 where theyare deposited into a row of cans` 30 in stacked relationship, the cans30 being indexed in a transverse line immediately beneath the chargingstation 30 via a can conveyor mechanism 32. Cooperating with thischarging operation (wherein a tall can will receive perhaps -ten formedbiscuit blanks) is an oiling mechanism 34 which is adapted to inject ametered amount of oil mist or spray into the can between each char-gingcycle so that the adjacent dough blanks will not stick together whenultimately removed from the can by the consumer.

Consideration will now be given to a description of the appanatus, fromthe dough-feed conveyor 12 to the ultimate removal of .the stacked cansvia the can conveyor mechanism 32.

The dough feed conveyor This conveyor 12 takes the form of an endless,continuous belt 36 mounted between opposed drive rollers 38 and 40, theentire assembly being mounted by any convenient means on a suitablesupporting frame 4-2. The drive roller 38 carries opposed gears 44 toimpart drive to the belt 36, as will later be explained.

The cutter assembly 16 which is positioned across the upper flight of.the belt 36 takes the form of opposed upright brackets 46 carryingspaced apar-t cutter discs 4-8 via a drive shaft 50, which i-sjournalled into the upright brackets 46. Drive .to the shaft 50 isimpanted by a convenient drive motor `51, this being a known expedientin the art.

The spreading apparatus 18 which is adapted to separate the cut doughstrips in transversely spaced relationship from one another takes theform of a series of vertical rods 52a-52z`, which rods .are positionedin the form of an isosceles triangle, with the apex rod 52e being spacedfurthest from the cutter assembly 16. These rods are adapted to receivedough strips therebetween so that the strips are spaced apart accordingt-o the diameter of these rods. Accordingly, .the bottom e-n-ds oftherods are flared at 54 -and are supported at their supper ends by asuirtable frame 56.

The rods 52a-52i carry sprocket wheels 58d-581 at their respective upperends and a sprocket chain 60 is tra-ined about these sprocket wheels58a-58 to impart a rotary movement thereto to facilitate the movement ofthe dough strips between adjacent rods and otherwise prevent binding lofthe dough strips as they move past the rods 52a 52. The sprocket 60` isdriven by any suitable means, there being shown an electric motor andreduction gea-r 62 joined tothe frame 56 in driving relationship withthe sprocket chain 60. This arrangement of the cutter .assembly 16 andthe spreading apparatus 18 thus serves` to cut and divide a continuousdough sheet int-o spaced apart strips which are fed off the end of thedough-sheet conveyor 12 `adjacent the drive roller 38 nearest thepackaging conveyor 14.

T lle cutter knife for forming dough blanks from the dough stripsReferring now to FIGURES 4-7, there is shown a cuitter knife assemblywhich is `adapted to cut these dough strips into generally rectangular,unformed blanks, which, due to the cyclical 'operation of the machine10, fall into the consecutive die-cup rows 22 carried by the packagingconveyor 14.

The cutter knife yassembly 20 takes the form of opposed mountingcastings 64 adapted -to be secured to the frame 66 of the doughpackaging conveyor 14. These castings 64 are joined together along theirfront end (nearest the forming station 26) by an integral arcuatereinforcing plate 67 for purposes of rigidity. The opposed castings 64carry a drive shaft 68 at their upper forward end (FIGURES 4 and 5).Also, each casting 64 carries rearwardly and downwardly of the driveshaft 68 a stub shaft 70. The drive shaft 68 receives drive via asprocket wheel 72 and also this drive shaft 68 has a sprocket wheel 74joined to each end. The outside of the stub shaft 70 carries an alignedsprocket wheel 76 and drive is transmitted to the stub shaft via asprocket chain 78. The lower rearward end of each casting 64 (downwardlyand slightly forward of a boss 80 which carries the stub shaft 70) is analigned inwardly-facing boss 82. The inner end of the stub shaft 70carries a first counterbalanced crank 84 in driving relationship, theopposite end of this lcrank 84 having an inwardly extending boss 86.

The lower boss 82 carries a second crank 88 via a stub shaft 89. Theopposite end of this crank together with the first-crank boss 86 beingconstructed `and arranged to receive a cutter frame 92.

This cutter 'frame 92 is an integral one-piece casting having opposedside walls 94. The side walls 94 carry spaced apart stub shafts 96 and98, the stub `shaft 96 being aligned for engagement with first crankboss 86, while the stub shaft 98 is aligned for engagement with theopposite end 90 of the second crank. Conveniently, the stub shaft 96 is'frozen into the first crank boss 86, received by a roller bearing joint100 in the side wall 94, and properly secured by a bolt 102. Likewise,the stub shaft 98 is frozen at its one end at the side wall 94, theother end being connected to the second crank 88 via another rollerbearing joint 104. Similarly, the second crank is joined to the lowerboss 82 via the stub shaft 89 and rotary bearing joint 108.

The cutter frame 92 has an integrally depending front wall with narrowslots 112 along its top edge, and long horizontal slots 113 .along itsbottom edge. The front wall 110 merges at its lower end with a short,rearwardly extending bottom wall 114.

A cutter plate 115 is joined to the front wall 110, this blade likewisehaving `a front wall 116 and spaced-apart portions 118 at 90 theretowith a rearwardly extending spaced apart cutting edge 120. Bolts 122join the front wall 116 of the cutter blade 114 to the slots 112 in thecutter frame front wall 110. The cutter rplate 115 is slotted below thebolt-connecting region and the spaced apart portions or bottom plates118 pass through cutter frame slots 113 so as to provide a yieldable butsecure connection to the cutter frame 92.

As drive is transmitted'to the drive shaft 68 and thereby to the stubshaft 70, rotary motion is imparted to the first crank 84 causing thestub shaft 96 to trace a circular path R1 and during this path ofmovement, the bottom par-t of the cutter frame is confined by the secondcrank 88 and. stub. shaft connection 98 to an arcuate oscillating pathR2 thereby causing the knife edges 120 to trace the path P, as shown inFIGURE 7. This path P is 0f a tear-drop shape and the speed of the bladecutting edges as they move downwardly adjacent the conveyor belt is sothat a part of the movement tends to cut the dough strip and force thedough strip down into the die-cup row 22 due to the urging by theunderside of the cutter blade bottom plates 118. This movement is highlyeffective in positively cutting the dough strips into small,rectangular, unformed blanks for deposit into the die-cup rows 22 whichare carried by the dough packaging conveyor 14. Thus, the cutting edges120 are of a width sufficient to cut a dough strip and are alignedtherewith.

The dough packaging conveyor assembly The dough packaging conveyor 14has a conveyor wheel positioned. on the frame 66 beneath the doughfeedconveyor 12, and the opposite end of the frame 66 carries upper andlower conveyor sprocket wheels 132, 134, respectively.

Referring now to FIGURES 9-11 and 18, it will be seen that one side ofthe conveyor frame 66 carries a longitudinally extending circular rod136 while the other side carries a parallel, longitudinally extendingU-shaped structural member 138, with its upper and lower legs 140, 142horizontally oriented and facing towards the circular rod 136 on theopposite side of Ithe frame. The rod 136 and opposed structural member138 thereby trace contiguous paths defining the conveyor path. The frame66 .also carries a smooth table surface 144 of Teon or the like whichextends across the upper flight of the dough packaging conveyor 14 froma point below the dough feed conveyor 12 to the charging station 28.This conveyor is formed of opposed sprocket chains 146 which traceidentically opposed paths about the conveyor sprocket wheels 130, 132,134 and thereby define the path of this conveyor. Spaced along thesesprocket chains 146 are the die-cup rows 22 as will now be explained.

There is provided a side-wise oriented I-beam 148 (FIGURE which defineseach die-cup row 22 of horizontal web portion 150 having spaced apartapertures 152 which correspond to the position of the dough strips asthey leave the dough sheet conveyor 12, and are cut by the cutter knifeassembly 20. These apertures 152 carry die cups 154 or plas-tic materialsuch as Teflon.

The die cups 154 are of generally cylindrical configuration but have anoutwardly flaring flipper end 156 and a ange 157 along the upper endwhich is adapted to rest on the I-heam web i150 by retaining rings 158.The `rings 158 resiliently engage the underside of the I-beairn web 150and are snapped into periphenal recesses 160 in the die cups 154. Theserings 158 serve to bias their respective die cups 154 towards the tablesurface 144i.

The end of the I-beam 148 adjacent the circular rod '136 is supported bya casting 16,2. This casting 162 has a 4longitudinally extending boss164 receiving the circular rod 1136 in sliding relationship so that thecasting slides along the rod throughout its entire path of movement. Theinner end of the casting 162 is bolted to the end of the I-beam web 150by bolts 166 and a plate 168 is carried on the underside of the I-beamweb `150 for this purpose. This defines ia downwardly facing space 170between the boss i164 and the end of the I-beam web- 150. The chain `146is positioned in this space. y

The chain 146 is secured .at its outer end to the boss 164 via arecessed resilient bushing 174 which receives `an extended end of chainpins. The inner end of the chain likewise is joined to the plate 168 viaanother recessed resilient bushing 174, receiving the inner end ofextended chain pins. This resilient mounting of the chains affords adegree of flexibility, for reasons to become evident, and the chainsremain flexible in order to pass around the conveyor sprocket wheels130, 132, 134.

The outside extremity of the casting 162 is of bifurcated constructionhaving spaced apart, facing recesses .176 defined by opposed side andend walls 178, 180, respectively. Carried in these recesses 176 arerollers 182, spaced .apart from one anotiher and conveniently mountedfor rotation by machine bolts 184.

The opposite end of each I-beairn web plate 150 is secured to thelongitudinally extending structural member 138 via a casting =186, whichis similar in rnany respects to the casting 162, like numerals beingused to identify similar parts. The only significant difference is thatthe casting 186 has a downwardly and outwardly extending leg 1'88 whichis adapted to be received between the upper and lower legs 140, 142, ofstructural element -138 as is apparent. This casting 186 is joined tothe sprocket chain 146 in the manner just described, and likewisecarries spaced apart rollers 182, for reasons now to be explained. Itwill be-come apparent that precise indexing of each I-beam 148 isnecessary due to the close tolerances involved in accurately positioningeach I- beam 148 Iat its filling station, forming station, and changingstation. -For this reason, means are provided which cooperate With therollers `182 to accurately position the I-beani 148 in its preciselongitudinal position.

Referring now to FIGURE 18, the frame 66 carries rods in outwardlyaligned relationship with the path of travel of the chains 146 alongtheir upper iiight. These longitudinal rods 190 carry cams 192 whichhave a minor diameter 194 and a major diameter 196 iabout' theircircumference, one intersection of lthese diameters 194 and 196 -being aradial surface 198 while the other intersection is in the form ofanother radial surface 200.

Each cam :192 is of asize so that the sector of the cam embracing onlythe major diameter 19.6 will pass between the rollers 182` The rods 190operate in timed relationship so that when the I-beams 148 lare indexedforwardly toward the charging station, the minor diameter sector 194 ofthe cams is passing adjacent the rollers 182 so that their movement isuninterrupted. When the indexing stops, the major diameter sectors 196of the cams 192 irnove between the rollers 182 and positively align theI-beam 148 so that the die cups 154 are positively fixed in the exactlongitudinal position which is desired. The resilient mounting of thechains to the Irollers 182 facilitates this coaction with the ca-ms 192.

At this point, the drive mechanism which operates the various elementswill now be explained, reference being made to FIGURES 1, 3 and 8.Mounted to the underside `o-f the frame 66 -(beneath the conveyor wheels132 and 1,34) is a variable speed drive 210 of conventionalconstruction. For example, a Reeves 5 Hl. variable speed drive Z-flow#331-1E-18, with a 1:5 reducer ratio, 1750 maximum rpm. output has beenfound to be quite satisfactory. This drive 210 is drivingly connected toa conventional continuous-intermittent drive transmission 211, likewiseof conventional construction. Typical drive transmissions of this typeinclude, by way of example, a Ferguson -2H-2 housing model #6-5304T-120manuactured by the `Fenguson Machine and Tool Company,

The transmission 211 has a horizontally extending output shaft 212transmitting an intermittent indexing drive to the conveyor wheel `134,this shaft 212 also having another drive sprocket wlheel `214 which isoperative to transmit a like intermittent indexing drive to .the canconveyor mechanism 32 as will be explained. A vertically positionedshaft 216 extends from the drive transmission 211 and transmitscontinuous lrotary motion to a drive 'transmission 218 positioned on theframe 66 immediately above the drive transmission 211.

The shaft 216 has a sprocket wheel 219; and, a gear box 220 ispositioned at the front center of the machine, forward of the pack-agingconveyor 14.

The gear box 220 'has an upright input sprocket 221 which receivescontinuous drive from the sprocket Wheel 219 via an endless sprocketchain 222. This gear box 220 has Itwo forwardly extending output drivesprockets 223, 223 which transmit continuous rotary drive to the opposeddrive rods 190 via endless sprocket chains 224, 224. These chains 224,y224 are also trained about aligned sprocket wheels 225, 225 on the rods190, 190', respectively.

By this arrangement, it will be appreciated that a continuous rotarydrive is imparted to the rods 190, to thereby operate the cams 192 onboth sides of the conveyor 14.

The ige-ar box 220 also has a rearwardly extending output sprocket wheel22'6 which transmits continuous rotary motion to other parts of themachine, `as will now be discussed.

Positioned longitudinally along the inner side of the dough packagingconveyor is a drive shaft 227 (FIGURE 19). This drive shaft 227 receivescontinuous rotary `drive from the sprocket wheel 226 via an alignedsprocket wheel 228, and an endless sprocket chain 229 trainedtherearound. The shaft 227, of course, is journalled in the frame 66 viaspaced apart bearings 230. The rearward end of the shaft 227 drives atransmission 231 havin'g right-angled opposed output shafts 232, 233.The shaft 232 extends laterally beyond the side of the machine andcarries a sprocket wheel 234. This sprocket wheel 234 is aligned fordriving the cutter knife assembly via the sprocket wheel 72 and anendless chain 235.

The inwardly extending shaft 233 carries a sprocket vwheel 236. Aforwardly extending endless chain 237 is The dough blank forming stationReference is now made to FIGURES 8 and 12. The frame 66 of the doughpackaging conveyor 14 carries a transversely extending horizontal driveshaft 240 journalled for rotation about its axis by any suitable means(not shown). This shaft carries a bevel gear 242 to thereby receiverotary drive from the shaft 238 by an aligned bevel gear 224 carried bythe rearward end of this shaft 238. Each end of this drive shaft 240carries two cams 246, 248 which are of identical configuration to beexplained, but angularly offset from one another.

Positioned in transversely extending, longitudinally spaced relationshipbelow the drive shaft 240 are two stationary shafts 250, 252 joined tothe frame 66 at its opposite ends, these shafts carrying opposedidentical bell cranks 254, 256, respectively. These bell cranks havearms 258, 260 extending upwardly towards the cams 246 and 248, andconstitute cam followers, one for the camv 246 and the other for the cam248. In view of the fact that bell cranks extend towards one another,the like angular offset relationship of the cams 246, 248 allows anidentical motion to be transmitted to the bell cranks 254, 256 as theshaft 240 is rotated.

The bell crank 254 has a forwardly extending link 262 while the bellcrank 256 has a rearwardly extending link 264. The frame 66 carries inalignment with these links 262 and 264 vertically movable front and rearrods 266, and 268 which are journalled in the frame 66 at their lowerends by bushings 270 to thereby allow the rods to slide verticallyupward and downward. The upper extent of the front rod 266 is connectedat the forward end of the link 262 by a pivot joint 272; in a likemanner, the rear rod 268 is connected to the rearwardly extending link264 by a similar pivot joint 274 so that the oscillation of the bellcranks 254 and 256 operates to transmit the oscillation to asimultaneous vertical reciprocation of the rods 266 and 268.

The cam follower arms 258 and 260 are biased against the respective cams246 and 248 via a tension spring 276 pinned at its upper end to the linkWhere the lower end is connected to the rod via an adjustable collar280. Thus, the rods 266, 268 move in unison as the bell cranksfaithfully follow an oscillating path determined by the configuration ofthe cams 246, 248.

The lower ends of these rods 266, 268 carry a longitudinally extendingbar 282 which is adapted to carry six sets of forming station plungersor pistons 284, 286, 288, 290, 292 and 294, respectively. These pistons284-294 are in rows across the die-cup rows 22 and aligned with the diecups 154 so as to be movable in and out of the die cups 154 which willbe indexed therebelow. Also, the bottom surface of these pistons 284-294are of progressively increasing height from the forwardmost row 284rearwardly so that upon a downward stroke, the row of pistons 284 movesin the die cups further than the opposite row of pistons 294. Thisallows a consecutive sequence of dough working as the die-cup rows 22are consecutively indexed under each row of pistons and advantageouslyworks the dough to form the same into a circular disk from the originalrectangular shape obtained when the dough strip was cut by the cutterknife assembly 20. Otherwise, these pistons are of the same constructionand a detailed discussion of one piston suicies to describe theconstruction of all of these pistons.

Referring to FIGURE l2, the bar 282 carries a bolt 296 which in turncarries a transversely extending bar 298, fixed along the bolt by locknuts 300 above and below the bar 298. By this arrangement, it will beevident that the bar 298 can be vertically adjusted in order to providevariable spacing of the pistons in the manner just described. Eachtransverse bar 298 has a series of vertical apertures 302 which areprecisely aligned with the vertical axis of each die cup 154 to beindexed precisely therebelow. Carried in each of these verticalapertures 302 is a piston rod 304 threaded at its upper end and carryinga retaining bolt 306 to limit its downward movement. The upper part ofthe bar 298 carries a cover plate 308 for purposes of sanitation and tolimit the upward movement of the rod 304. The rod 304 carries acompression spring 310 below the transverse bar 298 and is retained inplace by a collar 312 at the lower end of the rod 304. This spring isconveniently covered by a exible boot 314 for sanitation purposes, andthe bottom end of this rod carries a molded piston 316 of Teflon or thelike 0f a size to move in the die cup 154 each rod of which isconsecutively indexed below the piston 316. By this arrangement, onepiston is positioned in alignment above each die cup 154 in each row 22.For example, as ten die cups are positioned across each row, ten pistonslikewise will be carried by each transverse bar 298 and these bars 298are connected to the opposite side of the frame 66 in an identicalmanner.

The spring loading of each piston 316 allows the piston to yield inresponse to any binding which might occur, for example, due tomechanical failure or improper alignment of the die cups 154 therebelow.Likewise, this prevents excessive downward force on the dough blankcarried in the die cup beyond what is necessary and sufiicient forforming of the blank into a disk shape.

The dough blank charging station Referring now to FIGURES 8 and 16, theframe 66 carries a transverse shaft 320 forward and above the driveshaft 240; a drive shaft 322 is journalled for rotation in t-he frame 66forward and below the transverse shaft 320 in axially parallelrelationship. This shaft 322 receives drive from the rearwardlyextending shaft 238 via a bevel gear drive 324. The drive shaft 322carries therealong spaced apart cams 326 which cooperate with camfollower links 323 pivotally joined at their one end via bosses 330 tothe transverse shaft 320. The other end 332 abuts the underside of acollar 334 carried by the upper end of a piston rod 336. This piston rod336 is mounted for vertical reciprocation in the frame 66 by an upperbushing 338. Carried about the piston rod 336 beneath the bushing 338 isa compression spring 340, the bottom end of the compression spring 340being retained by collar 342 on the rod 336. The lower end of the pistonrod 336 is carried in a sleeve collar 344 having upper and lowerbushings 346, 348, the lower bushing 348 likewise being carried by thelower part of frame 66. The bushing 346, however, is slidably mounted inthe upper end of `the sleeve collar 344 and a beveled-ring spring 350 iscarried therein for shock absorbing purposes.

The bottom end of thel piston rod 336 carries a plunger or piston 352 ofTeflon or the like adapted to pass through the die cup 154 indexedtherebelow carrying a formed biscuit blank. In this regard, it will benoted that the table 144 ends immediately before this charging stationbelow these pistons 352 so as not to 9 interfere with the downwardmovement of the piston 352 therethrough.

According to an important feature of this invention, the compressionspring 340 is adapted to be compressed as the cam rotatescounter-clockwise in FIGURE 16, raising the piston rod 336 to its upperextent, and the cam 326 is so shaped as shown inFIGURE 16 to thenrelease the compression spring 340. By virtue of compression developedin the spring 340, the pis-ton 352 is rapidly accelerated in a downwarddirection at a velocity faster than gravity so t-hat it passes throughthe die cups 154 and forces the dough blank into the can. By virtue ofthis substantial downward velocity of the piston 352 it will thereby bemoving faster than the falling dough blank so that the botton face ofthe piston 352 will prevent undesirable tilting of the biscuit blank. Byvirtue of this arrangement in cooperation with a trap door assembly tobe discussed, the undesirable tilting of the disk-shaped dough blank isprevented in a highly reliable manner. Commercially acceptable stackingof the biscuit Iblanks in the cans-which are indexed immediately belowthis row of pisti-ons 352 in the charging station, is thereby obtained.

N-ow to be discussed is a trap door arrangement 358 positioned at theforward end of the table surface144 which cooperates with the chargingstation pistons 352 tov insure an accurate deposit of the biscuit blank.Referring to FIGURES 8, lr6, and 17, the opposite ends of the shaft 320(outside of the cam follower links 328) carry cam links 360 which havefollower rollers 362 intermediate their length. The drive shaft 322carries opposed aligned cams 364 and the forward end of the links 360are pivotally connected to a vertically movable operating rod 366 via alink plate 368. The operating rod 366 is mounted in upper and lowerbushings 370, 372 for vertical movement, and a compression spring 374 isconfined by a collar 376 below the upper bushing 370. The lower end ofthe rod 366 carries a connecting plate 378 having depending links 380,382 (FIGURE 17) pivotally connected thereto, the lower end of `theselinks 380, 382 being pivotally connected to opposed trap doors 384, 386which are of a bell crank construction as viewed `from the ends. Thereare provided stationary mounting shafts 388, 390 for the respective trapdoors. In order not to obstruct the movement -of the die cup rows 22,these mounting shafts 388, 390 are short stub shafts iiixed at theopposed sides of frame 66.

The trap doors have t-op surfaces 392, 394, respectively, which coincidewith the end of table surface 144 when in their upper closed position,as shown in FIGURE 8, so that the die-cup rows 22 can be indexed ontothis rtop surface immmediately below the charging-station pistons 352.

Rotation of the two opposed cams 364 forces the operating rods 366downwardly, thereby pivoting the trap doors 384, 386 away from oneanother. This movement is in timed relationship with the downwardmovement of the chargi-ng-station pistons 352 (as they are all operatedoff the dirve shaft 322) so that as the piston 352 is moving through thedie cup 154, the supporting surface of the biscuit blank issymmetrically removed upon downward pivotal movement of the trap doors384, 386 away from one another. This arrangement in cooperation with thefaster-than-gravity movement of the piston 352 prevents tilting of theblank due to the fact the supporting surface is not removed from oneside of the blank as would cause a tilting, due to the unsymmetricalremoval of the supporting surface for the blank.

It has been found that the pistons 352 need only move downwardly to thefinal position to a point slightly above the top of the can, and thehigh velocity imparted .to this dough blank is suiiicient to preventtilting. Moreover, the charging-station pistons 352 need not bestaggered from one side of the conveyor 214 to the other but Vall maymove downwardly to the same general elevation.

For reasons to become evident, these trap doors 348, 386 are hollow fromone end to the other. These trap doors 384, 386 are used in conjunctionwith the oiling mechanism as will now be discussed.

The olmeclzansm at the charging station this end, the underside of thetrap doors 384, which as stated are also manifolds, have nozzles 400joined thereto and oriented to transmit a mist spray into each canimmediately after the trap doors 384, 386 move back up to a horizontaltable position. One end of each trap door 384, 386 has connected theretoflexible hose pressure lines 402, 404, respectively, and the other endsof these hose lines are connected to mist generators 406, 407,respectively.

Each mist generator is of conventional construction, for example, IaBijirr Model ZAA Solenoid-Actuated Mist Lubricator manufactured by theBijur Lubricating Corporation. Referring to FIGURE 20, a compressed airline A is connected tot the inle't of each mist generator; each air linehas a solenoid valve V1, an ,air filter F, and Va pressure regulatingvalve V2. In order to provide timed impulses of compressed air forinjection into each inist generator 406,407, the one drive rod carriestwo cams 40'8, 408. Suitable microswitches 409, 409 are mounted forengagement with the cams 408, 408 -as the cams rotate through a selectedportion of 360. Thus, the microswitches 409, 409 are adapted to closeyduring a portion of each cycle. Each microswitch 409, 409 is connectedin an appropriate circuit to one of the solenoid valves V1 to therebyactuate the Ilatter in :cyclical fashion. Impulses of compressed air arethus injected into the mist generators 406, 407 to thereby 4atomize theoil and pulse the same Iout through the hose lines 402 and 404, duringthe appropriate portion of each cycle.

T ze can conveyor mechanism As previously pointed out, the cans areindexed in a row immediately beneath the charging station 28 where doughblanks are consecutively :deposited in the cans. FIGURE 14 shows aone-half plan view of a symmetrical conveying mechanism. This view showsthe input of the cans while the identical opposite side (not shown)takes the cans away a-fter they are filled.

As sho-wn in FIGURES 13 and 14, a transverse sprocket chain drive 420 istra-ined about sprocket wheels 422 mounted on vertical shafts 424. Linksof lthe chain 420 carry angle plates 426 which lare spaced apart lfromone another according to the can diameter, so that one can is receivedbetween adjacent angle plates 426. The sprocket wheel 214 which takes anintermittent drive from the intermittent drive transmission 211transmits an intermittent drive to the vertical shaft 424 via an alignedsprocket wheel 428, a chain 430 interconnecting the two sprocket Wheels,and a gear box 432 having as its output the vertical shaft 424.

Cans are fed up to the angle lplates 426 by :a narrow can conveyor 434and driven by a continuous drive olf the shaft 188 as will be explained.Guide rails 436 keep the cans in an upright position and have atransverse path 438 immediately adjacent the chain drive 420 tocarefully .guide .the cans transversely of the conveyor 14 beneath thecharging station 28.

In order to prevent clogging of the cans upon delivery of the cans fromthe continuously operated narrow conveyor 434 to the intermittentlyoperated chain drive 420, there is provided a vertically pivoted, springbiased gate 440 which moves back :and forth across lthe path of thenarrow conveyor 434 at its end in cooperation with the chain drive 420to allow one can to move between adjacent angle plates 426. This gate440 is pivoted intermediate its ends about a vertical shaft 442, while.the opposite end carries `a cam follower 446.

A horizontal, transversely extending shaft 447 is adapted for continuousrotary drive. To this end, the inner end of the shaft 447 carries -asprocket wheel 448 which is aligned to receive the endless chain 237 indriving engagement, as best shown in FIGURE 19. The outside end of thisshaft 447 carries a cup-shaped earn gear 451 which coacts with the camfollower 446 to cause the gate 440' to pivot back and forth across thepath of the conveyor 434. This shaft 447 also has .a sprocket gear 452which is alinged with a sprocket wheel 454 on `the rearward end of theforwardly extending narrow can conveyor 434 so that a drive istransmitted to .the conveyor 434 via a sprocket chain 456. The follower,446, of course, is biased against the cam surface of the cup-shaped cam450 via any suitable means such as a spring. The shaft 447 at itsopposite end carries another cam plate 458 (FIGURE A bracket plate 460adjacent the cam plate 458 carries a bell crank 462,

one arm 464 being so aligned with the cam plate 458 while the other armis connected to a guide bracket 466 horizontally movable towards :andaway from the drive chain 420. This guide bracket 466 also carriesano-ther bell crank link 469, which is pivotally connected to the guidebracket 466 and bracket plate 460 for stabilizing purposes, acting likea parallel linkage. The guide bracket 466 Itakes the shape of a webplate 470 having spaced apart upper and lower fork teeth 472, 474, whichalso are spaced relative to one `another to engage .a can therebetweenwhen oscillated towards the chain drive. These teeth 472, 474 preciselyalign each can in axial relationship with the axis of each die cup 154which has been positioned thereabove lat the charging station 28. Anidentical bracket and link arrangement (not shown) is carried by theopposed side of the conveyor mechanism and transverse rods 476connecting these links together.

The opposite side of the can conveyor (not shown) is ident-ical with theconstruction here disclosed. However, it is not necessary to provide agate and the'narrow can conveyor would operate in the opposite directionto take the filled cans away.

Description of operation of the mac/zine.

A dough sheet is Kfed tonto the dough-feed conveyor 12 where it isflattened :and sized by any suitable means (not shown). The dough sheetmoves beneath the cutter assembly 16 where the cutter disks 48 cut thedough sheet into longitudinally extending transverse dough stripsaccording to the number of biscuits that will ultimately be deposited ineach can. After the dough strips are so cut, they move past a spreaderassembly 18 where the rods 52, driven by the prime mover 62, serve tospread the dough strips apart from one another and otherwise align thedough strips in tranversely spaced relationship. As these spread-apartdough strips rnove to the end of the dough feed conveyor 12 adjacent thedrive roll 38 (FIGURE 7) where .la cutter knife assembly 20 (FIG- URES4-7) operates to cut unformed dough blanks from the ends of the strips,this cutter knife assembly operates in timed relationship to depositthese cut unformed blanks into die cups 154 carried in rows therebelow.The doughpackaging conveyor 14, which carries lthese ldie-cup rows 22indexes the rows from the position below the cutter knife assembly 20 toa forming station 26.

The form-ing piston rows 284-294 are driven off the anigularly offsetycams 246, 248 on opposite sides of the dough-packaging conveyor 14 sothat these pistons move on a downward stroke into the die cups 154 andwork on 4the dough. This action forms the dough blank in each die cup154 into a disk shape as each die-cup row 22 is indexed consecutivelybeneath each row of forming station pistons. The forming station pistonrows progressively enter into the die cups 154 a greater distance sothat there is `a consecutive working of the dough to a greater degree.

In order to align each die-cup row 22 in a precise longitudinalposition, the cam follower rollers 182 on the opposite ends of eachdie-cup row 22 engage la cooperative rotating cam 192 during a por-tionof their cam cycle after indexing, so that precise alignment is effectedby the major diameter 196 of the cam 192 passing between the rollers182.

After the dough biscuit blanks are so formed, the diecup rows 22 areindexed to :a charging station 28 where a row of pistons 352 areconstructed and arranged to move on a downward stroke faster thangravity to force the dough blank downwardly out of each die cup 154. Inlcooperation with this fa'ster-than-gravity movement of the chargingstation pistons, a trap door assembly 358 is positioned immediatelybelow the charging stat-ion pistons and `at the end of Ia table 144`along the upper -ight of the dough-packaging conveyor 14. The trap doorassembly 358 includes opposed trap doors 384, 386, which .pivotdownwardly away from one another to thereby symmetrically remove thesupporting surface of the dough biscuit blank and otherwise preventtilting thereof.

These blanks `are then discharged int-o cans indexed beneath thecharging station by a conveyor mechanism 32. This conveyor mechanism 32indexes the cans to.

consecutive .positions along the charging station by an intermittentlydriven drive chain 420, and precise alignmen-t of the cans beneath eachcharging station piston is obtained by an oscillating guide bracket 466with teeth 472, 474 serving this desirable end. A pivoted, cam operatedgate 440 lets one can pass into the can conveyor path defined by theguide rails 436 :as the cans are fed to this path from the can conveyor434.

During the charging cycle mist generators 406, 407 are constructed andarranged to inject a mist of vegetable oil or the like into the can aseach cycle is completed, this action being effected by a manifoldconstruction of the trap doors 384, 386 which connect with the mistgenerators 406 and 407 via hose lines 402 and 404, respectively, todischarge the pulsed mist spray into the cans in cyclical fashion- (seeFIGURE 20). Continuous rotary drive from the shaft 216 is transmitted tothe drive rods 190 alongside the packaging conveyor 14 via sprocketwheels 219, 221 and chain 222, providing tan input to the transmission220. Output sprocket wheels 223, 223 drive the sprocket wheels 225, 225on the drive rods 190, 190 via chains 224, 224', respectively. Anotheroutput sprocket wheel 220 on the transmission 220 `drives a rearwardlyextending shaft 227 (FIGURE 19). The output of this shaft 227 transmitsdrive to the cutter knife assembly 20 via the shaft 232, the sprocketwheel 234, chain 235 and the sprocket wheel 72. Drive to the canconveyor aligning mechanism is received via the output shaft 233,sprocket wheel 236, chain 237 and another sprocket wheel 448 (FIG- URES14 and 19).

The forming station 26 and the charging station 28 operate in acontinuous cycle off shaft 238 (FIGURE 8) which is drivingly connectedto the shaft 216.

Intermittent drive for indexing the dough packaging conveyor 14 forwardalong its upper flight is received from shaft 212; :and the cansconveyor mechanism 32 receives intermittent drive also from shaft 212(FIGURE 13).

Preferably, the dough-feed conveyor is powered by a separateconventional 'prime mover means 51 which engages the gear 44.

What is claimed is:

1. A `dough-biscuit packaging machine comprising: endless conveyor meanshaving :an upper flight and a lower fiight and including transverse rowsof die cups extending along said conveyor means; a forming station yanda charging stati-on :successively spaced along the upper fiight of saidconveyor means; means for indexing cams across said charging stationbelow said upper flight; means for indexing said conveyor means incooperative relationship with said can indexing means; means fordepositing dough blanks into the rows of die cups before said formingstation; a battery of pistons at said forming station operative to formsaid dough blanks in said die cups 4into the shape of a biscuit; and abattery of pistons at said charging sta-tion, and means to move saidlast mentioned piston-s in a 4downward stroke at a velocity faster thangravity Ito accelerate Ithe Iformed dough blanks carried thereby intothe cans indexed therebelow and prevent tilting of the blanks as theyare deposited in the cans.

2. Machine defined in claim 1 wherein said charging station includes atrap-door assembly comprising opposed transversely extending platesp'ivotally mounted at their opposed ends for downward movement away fromone another; means for indexing ea-ch successive row of die cups to aposition symmetric to the adjacent edges of said trap-door plates whensaid plates are pivoted upwardly adjacent one another to define agenerally horizontal surface, whereby downward movement of said platesprevents unbalanced force on the dough blanks positioned lhereover bythe rows of die cups.

3. Apparatus defined in cla-im 1 wherein said `formingst-ation pistonsinclude a plurality of longitudinally spaced, transversely extendingrows of pistons, the row of pistons furthest from said charging stationhaving a downward stroke towards said die cups less than the row ofpistons nearest said charging station.

`4. Machine defined in claim 1 including manifold means extending acrosssaid charging station with outlets oriented at openings of said cansindexed therebelow; and an oil mist `generator to inject oil into thecans via said manifold.

5. Machine defined in claim 2 wherein said trap-door plates havelongitudinal passages to define a manifold with outlet-s oriented to theposition of the cans indexed therebelow; and means for generating an oilmist and intermittently pulsating a quantum of oil mist into said cansvia said trap-door manifolds.

6. Machine defined in claim 1 including spring means carried by saidchar-ging station pistons and means for actuating said spring means toaccelerate said chargingstation pistons to said velo-city.

7. Machine ydefined in claim 1 wherein said charging station pistonshave a downward stroke terminating short of the top of the lcans indexedtherebelow.

8. Machine defined in claim 1 including means for longitudinallyaligning said rows of die cups below said forming-station pistons.

9. Machine defined in claim 8 wherein said longitudinal aligning meansincludes drive-rod means pos-itioned .along said conveyor means;aligning cams positioned along said drive rods according to thelongitudinal indexing positions of said die-cup rows; fol-lower meanscarried by said dielcup rows cooperative with said aligning cams toalign said rows, said cams having a major diameter engageable with Vsaidfollower means and a minor diameter not engageable with said followermeans whereby said die-cup rows can be indexed as the minor diameter ofsaid cams rotate past said follower means, and the major diameter ofsaid cams then engages said follower means to effect preciselongitudinal alignment of said die-up rows.

10. Machine defined in claim 9 wherein said drive-rod means includesopposed drive rods carried adjacent the l 11. 'Machine 'defined in claim1 wherein said doughblank depositing means includes means for conveyingspaced apar-t dough strips to said conveyor flight upstream l of saidforming station in alignment with die cups in each of said rows, and acutter knife assembly operative in timed relationship with saidconveying means to slit said dough strips to thereby deposit the latterinto the row of die-cups indexed therebelow.

12. `Machine defined in claim 11 wherei-n said cutter knife assemblyincludes a first rotatably driven crank having first shaft meansextending therefrom in spaced relationship to the axis of rotation; asecond oscillating crank positioned below said first crank and includingsecond shaft means in spaced relationship to the axis of oscillation; acutter frame extending across said conveyor means and joined at its oneend to said first and second shaft means, and cutter blade means carriedby said cutter frame in cutting alignment with said dough strips.

13. IMachine defined in claim 12 including opposed first and secondcrank means having a first rotatable shaft means and a secondoscillatable shaft means, respectively; the opposite end of said cutterframe also being operiatively joined to said last-mentioned first andsecond shaft means.

14. Machine defined in claim 12 wherein said cutter blade means ismounted for yieldable movement in a direction opposite to the directionof cutting.

15. ,Ma-chine defined in claim 12 wherein sla-id cutter blade means ismounted to effect a downward pushing movement `of the cut dough strip.

16. Machine defined in claim 1 including means providing a symmetricallyremovable supporting surface for biscuit blanks carried by said die-cuprows at said charging station operative in timed relationship with thedownward stroke of said -cl1arging-station pistons.

17. Machine defined in clai-m 1 wherein said can conveyor means includescan guide means ldefining a path below said changing station; endlessdrive means for engaging cans and indexing cans below successivecharging station pistons; and means movable into and out of said :pathto position sai-d cans precisely beneath said charging station pistons.

18. Machine `defined in cla-im 17.including a continuously movablesecond can conveyor aligned with said path for feeding cans thereto,`and gate means movable intoand out of said path adjacent the end ofsaid second c-an conveyor -to prevent binding of the cans as they movefrom said seco-nd can conveyor into engagement by said endless drivemeans.

19. Machine defined in claim .10 including means resilient-ly joiningsaid `die-cup rows to said conveyor means to enhance coaction of saidfollower means with said cams.

20. Machine defi-ned in claim 19 wherein said can conveyor means includeendless sprocket chains, and said resilient mounting means receivesextended pin ends of said chains.

21. A biscuit packaging machine comprising endless conveyor meanscarrying transverse rows of die cups; means for forming a dough biscuitbla-nk in consecutive rows of die-cups; a charging station positionedalong said conveyor means for forcing biscuit -blanks downwardly out ofsaid -die cups, said charging .station including pistons movabledownwardly 4through said die cups, and means providing a symmetricaliyremovable supporting surface for biscuit blanks carried by said row ofdie cups operative in timed relationship with the downward stroke of.said charging station pistons.

22. A biscuit packaging machine comprising endless conveyor means;transverse members carried across said endless conveyor means inconsecutive relationship; die cups carried in said transverse members;'guide means positioned along the sides of said conveyor means anddefining the pat-h of -travel thereof; means connecting said transversemembers to said guide means for sliding movement therealong; camfollower means carried by the ends of said transverse members; opposedguide rods positioned for rotation -alon g the upper flight of saidconvey-or means; cam means carried by said rods selectively movable intoengagement with said follower means -to accurately position saidtransverse members in longitudinal positions along the upper Hight ofsaid conveyor means; and biscuit blank form-ing and charging stationspositioned a-long the upper flight of said conveyor means.

23. A dough biscuit packaging machine comprising: endless conveyor meanshaving an upper Hight `and a lower Hight and including transverse rowsof die cups extending along said conveyor means for communicating withboth sides thereof; forming station and charging station successivelyspaced along the upper part of said conveyor means; said forming stationincluding a plurality of longitudinally `spaced transverse rows ofpistons; retaining -bar means joining said pist-ons for movement as algroup providing la stroke into said die cups to form a dough blank andthence outwardly `from said die cups to allow said conveyor to beindexed therepast; spaced apart rods joined to said retaining bar andvertically movable therewith; spaced apart bell cranks, each lbell crankhaving a link operatively connected to one of said vertically movablerods; shaft means carrying cams of simi-lar configura- -tion butyangularly offset from one another, said bell cranks having opposedlinks c-onstituting cam followers, one for each cam; means biasing ysaidcam follower links against said cams, said cams operative to transmit acyclical stroke to said forming-station pistons via said rods andretaining bars, said rows of forming-station pistons having successivelyreduced minimum space be-tween the bottom of said die cups during saiddownward stroke to thereby successively work the dough blanks into theshape of a biscuit fas said rows of die cups are successively indexedpast the consecutive rows -of forming-station plungers, and a tablesurface means positioned along said upper Hight below said formingstation for supporting said die-cup rows during movement therealong.

24. A dough-biscuit packaging machine comprising: endless conveyor meanshaving an upper Hight `and a lower Hight and lincluding transverse rowsof die cups extending valong said conveyor means and communicating withboth sides thereof; a forming station `and a charging stationsuccessively spaced -along the upper Hight of said conveyor means; meansfor indexing cans across said charging station below said upper Hight;means for indexing said conveyor means in cooperative relationship withsaid can indexing means; means for depositing dough blanks into the rowsof die cups ybefore said forming station, said 'last-mentioned meansincluding means for conveying spaced apart dough strips to said conveyorHight upstream of said for-ming station in `alignment with die cups ineach of said rows, and a cutter knife assembly operative in timedrelationship with said conveying means, to slit said dough strips tothereby deposit the latter into the row of die-cups indexed therebelow,said cutte-r knife assembly including a Hrst rotatably driven crankhaving first shaft means extending therefrom in spaced relationship -tothe -axis of rotation; a second oscillating crank positioned bel-ow saidVirst crank land including second shaft means in spaced relationship tothe axis of oscillation; a cutter frame extending across said conveyormeans Iand joined at its one end 'to` said Hrst `and second shaft means,cutter blade means carried by said cutter frame in cutting alignmentwith said dough strips.

25. Machine deiined in claim 24 including opposed first and sec-ondcrank means having a Hrst rotatable shaft means and a second-oscillatable shaft means, respectively; the opposite end of said-cutter frame also being opera- Itively joined to said last-mentionedfirst and second shaft means.

26. Machine defined in claim 24 wherein said cutter blade means ismounted to yieldable movement lin a direction opposite `to the directionof cutting.

27. Machine defined in cla-im 124 wherein said cutter blade means ismounted to effect a downward pushing movement of the cut dough stripwith lthe underside thereof.

28. A dough-biscuit packaging machine comprising: endless conveyor meanshaving an upper Hight and a lower Hight and including transverse rows ofdie cups extending along said conveyor means and `communicating withboth sides thereof; la forming station and `a charging stationsuccessively spaced along the upper Hight of said conveyor means; meansfor indexing cans across said charging station below said upper Hight;means for indexing said conveyor means in cooperative relationship withsaid can indexing means; means for depositing dough blanks into the rowsof die cups before said forming station; and means operative at saidcharging station for injecting into cans therebelow a lubricating mistspray.

29. Machine defined in claim 28 wherein said lastmentioned meansincludes la mist generator; manifold means along said charging stationin communication with said mist generator and including nozzle -meansoperative in timed relation-ship with said `indexing means for injectingthe spray into .the cans.

|No references cited.

GRANVILLE Y. CUSTER, JR., Primary Examiner.

1. A DOUGH-BISCUIT PACKAGING MACHINE COMPRISING: ENDLESS CONVEYOR MEANSHAVING AN UPPER FLIGHT AND A LOWER FLIGHT AND INCLUDING TRANSVERSE ROWSOF DIE CUPS EXTENDING ALONG SAID CONVEYOR MEANS; A FORMING STATION AND ACHARGING STATION SUCCESSIVELY SPACED ALONG THE UPPER FLIGHT OF SAIDCONVEYOR MEANS; MEANS FOR INDEXING CAMS ACROSS SAID CHARGING STATIONBELOW SAID UPPER FLIGHT; MEANS FOR INDEXING SAID CONVEYOR MEANS INCOOPERATIVE RELATIONSHIP WITH SAID CAN INDEXING MEANS; MEANS FORDEPOSITING DOUGHT BLANKS INTO THE ROWS OF DIE CUPS BEFORE SAID FORMINGSTATION; A BATTERY OF PISTONS AT SAID FORMING STATION OPERATIVE TO FORMSAID DOUGH BLANKS IN SAID DIE CUPS INTO THE SHAPE OF A BSISCUIT; AND ABATTERY OF PISTONS AT SAID CHARGING STATION, AND MEANS TO MOVE SAID LASTMENTIONED PISTON IN A DOWN WARD STROKE AT A VELOCITY FASTER THAN GRAVITYTO ACCELERATE THE FORMED